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Tuesday, 29 March 2016

wonderful Easter weekend, ours was quite quiet but we enjoyed a little time in the

garden before the weather turned....

I ended up doing two tags, just because I enjoyed the techniques so much! I pretty
much followed Tim's tutorial which you can see HERE.

The tag and corrugated layer were die cut.

After applying the two Remix Techniques, the die cut tag was coloured with Tim's Distress Crayons.

Foil was added here and there.

To finish off, one of the new word bands was added and coloured with the Distress Crayon, it is so much easier with the crayons than paint, in my humble opinion.

I wasn't totally happy with the look of the Distress Crayons on my tag and I was reading a post by Paula Cheney, here, where she used a wet wipe (not a really wet one) so I tried it and it worked a lot better for me, you can see the result in my second tag.

I think the colours look a little brighter with the wet wipe technique and the crayons blended much more easily.

Saturday, 19 March 2016

The lovely and talented ladies at Creative Carte Blanche have a new experiment for us! For Creative Adventure No. 2 we are to use three things that do not go together - Corrugated Card, Lace and Metal.

I had been watching a video on the Wanderlust experience where we learned how to re-purpose an old book. I don't really have any old books suitable for re-purposing, but I had the idea of starting from scratch and making a little album from corrugated card, using some techniques I learned through attending an Andy Skinner class last year. I don't have a lot of step by steps today as my album kind of 'evolved'.

To create the cover I used some packaging and started by stripping the top layer. As you can see I did not strip it right back as I wanted some areas that I could decorate.

I coated the 'left over' layer with DecoArt Gesso in white. Once it was dry I coated the gessoed areas with DecoArt Crackle Paste and left it overnight to dry.

Next, I created two 'washes', the first one using DecoArt Fluid Acrylic Paint in Cobalt Teal Hue. I mixed a drop of the paint with about five parts of water and used this to paint over the crackled areas.

The second wash was made with Quinacridone Gold and this was painted over the edges of the album, front and back and allowed to drip down. I also painted the lace with the same wash to give it an aged appearance.

I treated the back of the album in the same way.

For the inside, I cut down two manila folders and created three signatures. These were gessoed and painted in DecoArt Americana Deco Chalky Finish paint in blue (ADC20). I attached the three signatures using some string and then decorated the string on the outside of the album with some wooden beads from my stash.

I used some embossing paste, stamping, remnant rubs and die cuts to decorate the inside. I did not do anything too bulky as I want to add photographs at some point. Since I used the manila folders, there are a few pockets for storing things in too.

The Idea-ology piece was rusted using a mix of DecoArt Fluid Acrylics in Paynes Gray, Quinacridone Gold and Cobalt Teal Hue, followed by a layer of DecoArt Ultra Matte Varnish. The butterflies were stamped onto a piece of aged book page, the central butterfly was coloured and then covered with DecoArt Liquid Glass (Clear), followed by a coat of Ultra Matte Varnish.

I really enjoyed making this little album, the finished album measures 6" x 6".

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

I am back, temporarily (sorry to say, we still have the horrible virus) to share with you the next stop in Paloma's worldwide adventures. For those who do not know Paloma, she was created by the lovely Lys of Impression Scrap. After the horrid and tragic events in France last year, Lys created Paloma so that she could travel around the world and spread the message of peace. This is what Lys had to say:

"After the shock, anger, nausea... what to say, what to do?

I have only the weapons made of paper and words....

I can face violence only with my value and beliefs.

Freedom and peace are the ones I wished to give today.

My little dove of simple paper

For her I make a wish: could she take flight,

And give all around the world her freedom and peace message"

Paloma came to me after visiting Sandy of Simply Sandy in the USA. Previously she had visited two other special ladies, Sara Emily of Sarascloset and prior to that, Alison of Words and Pictures.

Lys asked us to photograph Paloma in a place that represents peace and freedom to us. I showed you, a while back, some photographs of a shrine, up in the hills of the Peak District National Park, near where we live. Whilst not religious myself, the shrine is so beautiful, it is always full of flowers and I always feel a certain calm when I visit it. So here is Paloma, visiting the shrine on a really beautiful sunny, wintry day last week.

First of all, a close up.

View a little further away

A view of the whole shrine.

We had a bit of snow that day too, people had been sledging down the hill

Paloma is off on her travels again, taking her message of peace to another country, far away. I will not spoil it by telling you who she has gone to, but she carries with her a little passport of her visits and a little gift for the next recipient. I hope you have a peaceful journey Paloma!

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Eileen Hull has challenged her Inspiration Team to use the fabulous Sizzix Inksheets and Leather Paper Sheets. I must admit I had never used either of them before but once I watched a couple of videos I was hooked! Quite simply, the Inksheets can be used with any Embossing Folder to transfer the ink to the embossed area. You can also use thin dies too and it turns the dies into stamps... how clever is that! I decided to make his and hers keyrings using the Embossing technique.

The Leather Paper comes in a variety of colours and it is wonderfully strong, it will emboss and die cut beautifully.

To make my his and hers keyrings I used Eileen Hull's Needle Book die and two of Eileen's Embossing Folders - Leaves and Swirls and Sunburst.

I use a Big Shot Plus machine, Once I die cut the Needle Book, I used the large platform and also the B Plate. I put my cutting pad first, the embossing folder, the Ink sheet with the dull side toward the die cut, then the Leather Paper die cut, the top of the Embossing Folder and another small plate (mine are blue but yours will likely be clear.

After embossing your piece the Inksheet transfers the pattern to your die cut, it looks just like you have stamped and embossed your pattern. Just think of the possibilities!

I die cut some of the cream Leather Paper with the Needle Book die, and cut it down a fraction so it would fit with a little space so that the holder would fold easily. I also die cut a second tab, glued one to the top and one to the side. I also attached one of Tim Holtz fasteners to the front. I then glued the cream insert to cover the tabs and fastener.

I die cut a black insert from black Leather Paper. I love the look of the Sunburst EF on the Grey Leather Paper. To finish off I used a couple of Tim Holtz punches, they cut beautifully through the Leather Paper, and added a key ring to each.

I will be honest, I didn't get it right first time but with a bit of perseverance it worked out beautifully in my opinion, they both have a wonderful 'distressed' look.

I look forward to experimenting more with these Leather Papers and Inksheets and I hope that you will have a go with them too. You can also get an Inksheet Starter Kit, which gives you the plate you will need to use if you are 'die' stamping with the Inksheets.

My teamies have already and will be sharing more projects all this month if you want to check them out here and here.

As always, thanks for looking!

Hugs, Anne xx

Edited: I scheduled this post a couple of days ago when I thought the virus was on it's way out, sadly, it is back with a vengeance, sincere apologies if I don't get round to visiting you over the next couple of days - sorry! Hope you all stay virus free! xx

Saturday, 5 March 2016

At Anything But Cute this month the wonderfully talented and lovely Branka is hosting our challenge, which is 'Crazy for Colour'. To celebrate the Springtime we would like to see you create a mixed media project using Vibrant Colours. It can be a tag, a card, an art journal page or anything else, just as long as you use vibrant colours!

I decided to give an old air freshener bottle a make-over.

I absolutely love the 'faux crackled glass' technique that both Wendy Vecchi and Tim Holtz use and I thought it would look beautiful using some vibrant colour!

The first step is to wash the glass well in soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly - as any oil or dirt will affect the outcome. Cover the whole piece evenly with Ranger Glue 'n' Seal (Matte). Leave to dry naturally.

Coat well with Ranger Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. Try to make it a fairly even coat, you don't want big blobs of paint as these will be more likely to chip off later. I find it best to leave this to dry overnight, I never use a heat tool when doing this technique.

When it is dry you should have some lovely big crackles!

Now for the fun part! I use an old pizza box as a 'spray booth'. This part is messy.

I used Mermaid Lagoon Distress Spray Stain (you can use alcohol inks too if you prefer) to cover the whole of the piece. It doesn't look great when you first do it, the stain seems to 'pool' in some of the cracks but don't worry, it will look great when it is dry. Leave it to dry naturally for a couple of hours at least. Don't be tempted to use a heat tool, natural is best!

Next up is the flower. I used a mixture of Red and Orange DecoArt Media Misters (the colours are really vibrant), mixing them in a separate bottle and I just sprayed the whole flower. The flower came as part of the air freshener set and is made of a very lightweight material which took the colour beautifully!

Now, for the most important step (in my opinion). I covered the glass with a coat of Ranger Glue 'n' Seal, this time in the gloss finish. At this stage you will feel like your colour is lifting from the glass, Distress Stain is water based and will react with any liquid you put over the top, but just keep applying it in small gentle strokes. I left it to dry thoroughly and then applied a second coat. It gives the glass a lovely glossy sheen and it protects the crackle from chipping off. I would not recommend washing the glass but a gentle dusting from time to time should not dislodge the crackles.

Another view of the finished pieces.

If you have not tried the technique before, I hope you will now!

So, if you feel inspired to go 'Crazy for Colour' then please do join us at Anything But Cute, we would love to see you join in Branka's wonderful challenge.

Friday, 4 March 2016

I was so thrilled to be in the Top 3 at Indigoblu with my Grungy Heart piece and then even more

thrilled when I was asked to do another project for their challenge blog HERE.

I am patiently waiting for my new Indigoblu flower stamps to arrive so I thought I would use the

very first Indigoblu stamp I purchased (Blazing Poppies), it must be 3 or 4 years ago and I think it is probably my most used stamp as it suits so many occasions. The brief was to use red - so this stamp was just perfect for that!

It also gave me the chance to try out my new Tim Holtz Distress Crayons!

I stamped the image onto Watercolour Cardstock, with Ranger Black Archival Ink and then quickly added some Ranger Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it.

I took the advice that Tim gave to Jenny (Buttons) at Stitches - he said that 'Less is More' is not the way to play with the crayons - it is 'More is More'!! I laid down loads of red and then used a water brush to move it out to the edges. All I can say is, the crayons are simply lush and so easy to use! For the yellow tinge in the background I put some of the Mustard Seed onto my little glass dish, added lots of water and created a 'wash' for my background.

To finish off, I dyed some vintage ribbon, made a messy bow and added a heart charm. I added some layers of black and red card before attaching it to my white base card.

Thank you to the ladies at Indigoblu for giving me this opportunity, I absolutely love this stamp!

I would like to add this to the fabulous Darnell's NBUS Challenge #6. My never before used items is my new Distress Crayons.